Vending machine with magazine agitator



July 16, 1968 A. T. WILCEK 3,392,880

VENDING MACHINE WITH MAGAZINE AGITATOR Filed Sept. 2, 1966 a Ewan tar A4 5527' Z Max-z United States Patent O ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A vending machine having a magazine for receiving article'sin 'a single row and feeding same to a dispensing device, a hopper receiving articles in juxtaposed and superimposed relation for feeding to the'magazine, and rigid agitating meansinsaid hopper driven by said dispensing 3,392,880 Patented July 16,

normally locked to the rear section 11 by a'key-operated lock 13 and also includes a coin slot 14 thatleads to a suitable coin mechanism 15, FIG. 2, and a dispensing slot 16 is provided at the lower end of the door 12. The articlesydispensed from the machine pass through the slot 16 and are held in a pocket until removed therefrom by a person operating the machine. A knob 17 operates the machine to cause dispensing of an article when a coin has been received by the coin mechanism 15.

The machine is shown removed from the cabinet in FIGS. 2 and 3. The knob 17 operates, through the coin mechanism 15, a rock shaft 18 extending horizontally magazine.

' This invention relates in general to a dispensing or vending machine, and more particularly to a dispensing or vending machine of the coin operated .type that is especially suitable for dispensing of elongated generally tubular or circular articles, such as pencils or ball-point pens, although other uses and purposes may be apparent to one skilled in the art.

, While dispensing machines have heretofore been developed for dispensing of tubular orcircular articles, the capacity of the machines for a particular size has been limited. Further, the problem of bridging in a magazine of a machine has been a cause of malfunctioning thereby limiting the usefulness of such machines.

The present invention overcomes the above difliculties by providing a magazine in a vending machine that is capable of having a large capacity so that a machine of a certain 'size can operate without service for longer periods of time. Moreover, the present invention provides means for preventing bridging of articles in a magazine so that the full capacity may be dispensed without malfunc tionin-g.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to pro- I vide an improved dispensing machine for dispensing of elongated tubular or circular-like articles in conjunction with a coin operated mechanism whereby the capacity of the machine is greater than heretofore developed like machines.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a dispensing or vending machine including a machine for holding elongated tubular or circular-like articles, wherein agitating means is provided in the magazine for agitating the articles and preventing bridging and jamming so that all of the articles may be effectively dispensed from the machine.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheet of drawing, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the machine according to the present invention removed from its casing to show operative parts; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 2, and illustrating the dispensing device in normal and dispensing position.

Referring now to the drawings, the dispensing or vending machine of the present invention generally includes an enclosure or cabinet 10, FIG. 1, having a rear section 11 and a front door or cover section 12 defining a substantially rectangularly-shaped cabinet. The front door 12 is and below a magazine 19. The rock shaft drives a dispensing device 20 that causes dispensing of articles one at a time from the magazine 19. a i

The magazine 19 is mounted between opposed upstanding Walls 21, 21 that extend upwardly from a rear wall 22, all of which extend upwardly from abottom wall 23. The magazine includes a lower section 24 and an upper section 25. The lower section receives and holds a stack of articles 26 in superimposed relationship, while the upper section 25 holds and supports a stack of articles in side-by-side and superimposed relationship.

The lower section 24 of the magazine includes front and back parallel spaced, upstanding guide plates 27 and 28 closed at opposite sides by opposed end guide plates 29 and 30. The magazine lower section 24 is provided with an inlet at the upper end associated with the uppersection 25 and an outlet at the lower end associated with the dispensing device 20. The lower magazine section may take any suitable form as long as it is capable of supporting and guiding a plurality of elongated tubular or circular-like articles in superimposed relationship to the dispensing device 20.

The upper magazine section 25 includes front and back upwardly diverging walls 31 and 32 closed at the sides by parallel opposed end walls 33 and 34 thereby defining a large inlet at the upper end and a small outlet at the lower end. The outlet of the upper magazine section feeds into the inlet of the lower magazine section, and the magazine may be replenished with articles by inserting same into the inlet of the upper section 25. Thus, the upper section 25 is somewhat trough-shaped in cross section and capable of holding a plurality of articles in side-by-side and superimposed relation, and a greater number of articles for the height compared to a similar height of a section of the lower magazine section 24.

Adjacent the lower outlet end of the magazine lower section 24 is a discharge chute 37 that is provided with a downwardly and forwardly curving wall 38 for guiding articles dispensed from the magazine 19 to thepocket at the lower end of the machine. The chute may be arranged to guide a dispensed article in any suitable direc tion.

In order to dispense the articles 26 from the magazine 19 one at a time, the dispensing device 20 includes a slightly upwardly convex, but substantially flat supporting portion 39 supported by means of a bracket 40 on the rock shaft 18. A suitable pin such as a cotter key 41 may be provided to extend through holes in the bracket 40 and the shaft 18 to cause the bracket and shaft to rotate together. As seen in solid lines in FIG. 3, the dispensing device 20 is in normal position whereby the fiat supporting portion 39 engages the lowermost article 26 in the stack and supports the stack in the magazine. An upstanding pusher portion 42 extends upwardly from the front edge of the flat portion 39 a height slightly less than the height of an article and serves to push and article from the magazine when the dispensing device 20 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3. Extending forwardly and downwardly from the upper the dispensing device and at the other end onto a fixed lug 46. Thus, upon rotation of the rock shaft 18, the dispensing device 20 is also rotated .to dispense the lower} most article from the magazine and into the dischargechute 37. Upon release of the rock shaft 18, the dispensing device 20 is returned to its normal position by its spring 45.

In order to prevent bridging or jamming of the articles 26 in the magazine, and especially in the upper section 25, an agitating device 47 is provided and operable during the dispensing cycle. This agitating device includes an elongated plate hingedly connected at 48 to the dispensing device 20 and extending along a part of the lower magazine section 24 and within the upper magazine section 25. The plate includes a flat portion 49 that extends along the front guide means of the lower magazine section 24 in engagement with the forward edges of the articles 26. While the first fiat portion 49 is shown to extend along the upper part of the lower magazine section 24, it may be extended along the lower part or all of the lower section if desired. A second plate portion 50 extends from the upper end of the first plate portion 49 at an angle and generally along the front wall 31 of the magazine section 25 to thereby engage the articles 26 in the upper magazine section that are adjacent the front wall. The lower end of the first flat portion 49 is connected to a section 51 that is in turn hingedly connected at 48 to the dispensing device 20. Thus, the agitating device 47 is pivotally connected at its lower end to the dispensing device 20 and free at its upper end while extending in the upper magazine section 25. Upon rotation of the dispensing device 20, it will be appreciated that an upward movement and a downward movement will be given to the agitating device 47 and thereby cause imparting to those articles in engagement therewith an agitation that will enhance movement through the magazine and prevent bridging or jamming of the articles in the magazine especially at the outlet of the upper section 25 and the inlet of the lower section 24.

The general idea of having a dispensing machine with a dispensing device like that in the present machine is shown in US. Patent 2,821,329, and therefore the present invention involves the inclusion of the agitating member with such a dispensing device and the enlargement of a magazine to'enable a larger capacity of articles.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of thepresent invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

ary front, back, opposed side and bottom guide means for The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A machine for vending elongated tubular articles comprising an upstanding magazine adapted to receive a stack of articles, said magazine having a lower section and an upper section, the lower section having an inlet at the upper end and an outlet at the lower end and 'ineluding front, back and opposed side guide means for maintaining the articles in single columnar superimposed relation and the upper section having an inlet atthe-npper end and an outlet at the lower end and including stationreceiving the articles in side-by-side and superimposed relation and arranged so that its outlet feeds to the inlet of said lower section, a discharge chute beneath said magazine, a horizontal rock shaft extending below the lower section of the magazine, a dispensing device mounted on said shaft for movement therewith and coacting with the oulet of said magazine lower section to control dispensing of articles into said chute, said dispensing device including a slightly upwardly convex, supporting portion adapt ed when in its normal position to engage the lowermost article in the lower section of the magazine and'support the stack therein, an upstanding pusher portion on one side of the fiat portion of a height less than the height of an article, whereby the lowermost article will be dispensed rearwardly into the chute upon tilting movement of the dispensing device, an arcuate support portion curved forwardly and downwardly from the upper edge of the pusher portion and adapted to support the stack of articles when the lowermost one thereof is being dispensed, spring means for'yieldingly maintaining said dispensing device in its normal position, and rigid agitating means operably driven by said dispensing device to agitate the articles in the upper section of said magazine during the dispensing cycle and prevent jamming at the outlet of the' upper section and the inlet of the lower section, said agitating means including a first rigid flat portion extending along and in engagement with articles in the magazine lower section and a second rigid flat portion extending at an angle from the upper end of the first fiat portion and within the magazine upper section along the front guide means thereof.

2. A machine for vending elongated tubular articles as defined in claim 1, wherein said first flat portion is hingedly connected to said dispensing device.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 935,411 9/1909 Ross et al. 221205 1,045,514 11/1912 Clawson 22l--205 2,419,050 4/ 1947 Ashwood 221-183 3,119,520 1/ 1964 Christopher 221-202 2,785,682 3/1957 Neumair 221-205 X FOREIGN PATENTS 232,685 8/ 1959 Australia.

STANLEY H. TOLLBE-RG, Primary Examiner. 

